Holiday time! Two weeks off, woohoo! I have been busy working into the night to clear my desk, Belinda has a fortnight off her day job and we're ready to go!

Not so fast! While most people are enjoying a well-earned break and a holiday in glorious Devon and Cornwall we mustn't forget that we have a business to run and part of that caters for the tourist trade and we are approaching August Bank Holiday, traditionally the busiest time of year.

So, a holiday for us is means that I am not front of shop, Belinda gets that pleasure, and I get time to get up-to-date with all my giclée printing jobs and ​paint pictures. Four of them this week, to be precise. Yes, it's the RHS Rosemoor Annual Garden Exhibition and no, I haven't started them yet. Still, having Belinda mind the gallery really helps, I can actually concentrate on painting without interruptions and hopefully focus on the task in hand.

Oh, I nearly forgot, we are also doing Holsworthy and Stratton Agricultural Show this Thursday, the 25th, so come along and see us there. A great day out for everybody.

If I can get all my duties done I hope to free up some time to get outside. I mentioned in a blog some time ago that we are about to embark on an exciting new development project (patience, I will reveal all soon) which will mean big changes next year (maybe even a proper holiday!). But before I can even contemplate that, there is a lot of preparation to do.

Planning permission is in place, I am now trying to get the drawings complete for Building Regs, wade through the structural engineer's calcs and battle with SAP jargon and calculations. Meanwhile, before the build proper, I need to build a 20 metre stone garden wall, re-paint all the exterior masonry, clear the site, empty the outbuildings and break out a concrete floor.

Anyway, after a bit of a grey and dismal weekend the weather here in Devon is set for a scorcher this week. So, although not exactly a holiday, I may get a tan shoveling sand and aggregates into the cement mixer. Happy days!

It's peak summer, the sun is shining, it's busy and there's people everywhere enjoying what Devon has to offer. With the gallery buzzing at this time of year it is easy to forget everything else that has to be done, so time for a recap.

And... this morning we submitted the titles and prices for my entries for the RHS Rosemoor Annual Garden Exhibition, which is interesting as I haven't painted them yet! Hand in day is looming so I had better get painting.

Meanwhile, I have four big giclée printing jobs on for other artists. Probably all getting ready for some of the events mentioned above but a bit further ahead than me!

​While all this is going on, and in our busiest month of the year in the gallery, I am trying to prepare for our exciting new development work due to start in September. More about that later.

All of our artists at West Gallery come exclusively from Devon and Cornwall. There is so much creative talent in this part of the world that there is no need to go anywhere else.

One of our Cornish contingent is Chris Edwards who delights in painting local seascapes and landscapes. Chris knows Cornwall with the intimacy of a keen walker and one-time sea angler, especially the area nearest her home in North Cornwall where she is in her element. Cornwall is a land of myth, ancient, powerful, and elemental. This is inherent in her work.

Chris makes many preliminary studies of the places that inspire her but tries to hold one key idea in mind as she works on the canvas in her studio. As the idea takes shape she hopes to capture something emotive that the viewer can share, so the painting can live on, holding more than just colour, texture, line and form.

The work illustrated below is of Tamar Lakes that separate Devon from Cornwall.This limited edition print on Hahnemühle German Etching of Tamar Lakes is available both here online or in the gallery.

Chris also uses West Gallery to print fine art giclée prints from her originals, so if you're an artist and want to get the most from your artwork do what Chris does and get some prints made. You know it makes sense!

I have always been fascinated by trends. What people do and why the do them. I mentioned in my blog a few weeks ago that due to the localised effect of national events it seems currently to be quality rather than quantity. As the summer season now comes into full swing the theory is that this scenario should reverse somewhat. More families with children that tend to buy smaller, lower value items but obviously there's more of them so effectively the turnover is up.

It's early days but at the moment the trend of less numbers but buying big is continuing from spring. To be honest, the type of artwork we do is generally something that appeals to the discerning individual that appreciates quality and not to the masses, so I shouldn't be surprised really.

Just yesterday a couple came to buy one of Margaret Johnson's sumptuous glass bowls and ended up purchasing a £500 Roger Ford original oil painting too. That's the way it's been going. It can be a bit unnerving wondering where the next thousand pound plus sale is coming from but, so far, they do just keep turning up.

​It's not as if we haven't got some quality handmade items under £100, even under £25, so we will see if this area picks up over the rest of the summer. To a degree, it's kind of 'swings and roundabouts' at the moment but although it doesn't feel busy the reality is turnover is considerably up on previous years.

The interesting thing to me, however, is what compels people en masse to make these decisions without any interaction between each other. What drives the herd mentality? Is it sub-conscious? Are they influenced by the media, the weather, their horoscope? Who knows.

What I do know is that while people are coming in to the gallery and spending big I won't worry too much.